Piers Morgan has moved quickly to defend Macy Gray after the singer's comments on his talk show.
The presenter, 57, was talking to the singer, 54, about people who are transgender on his Piers Morgan Uncensored show when she said: "Just because you go and change your parts doesn’t make you a woman, sorry."
And Piers took to Twitter to urge people not to let the "savage trans activist mob" cancel Macy for her comments after the singer had acknowledged people will "hate me for saying this".
Piers' message came after he and Macy both faced a backlash on the social media platform after he shared her interview with his followers.
During the show, Piers made a claim that public figures are sometimes wary about sharing their thoughts on the issue for fear of criticism.
The crooner agreed and defined a woman as "a human being with boobs".
She added: "How about you start there? And a vagina."
Macy quickly moved to clarify that she backs transgender rights, but drew the line at athletic competitions.
She continued: "If you want me to call you a 'her,' I will because that’s what you want, but that doesn’t make you a woman just because I call you a 'her' and just because you got a surgery."
And she also pledged her support for JK Rowling after the author has been widely criticised for her own views on transgender matters.
Macy added: "I don’t think you should be called transphobic just because you don’t agree.
"There is a lot of judgement and throwing stones at people for just saying what it is. Do you know what I mean?
"A woman goes through a completely unique experience and surgery and finding oneself doesn’t change that.
"Being a little girl is a whole epic book, you know? You can’t have that just because you want to be a woman."
Viewers watching the show took to Twitter to slam Macy following the controversial interview.
One wrote: "Everything going on in the world right now and Macy Gray decides to use her platform to instead call out people who are already oppressed and attempt to invalidate them."
Loose Women star India Willoughby wrote: "Sad and desperate. This is why it’s virtually impossible for anyone trans to work in British media. Easy to dehumanise a group when they’re not represented in the office."
Another added: "Feeling very betrayed today by my two heroes Bette Midler and Macy Gray", while a fourth viewer chimed: "I wasn’t expecting that from Macy gray.. she gives carefree and LGBTQIA+ ally."
Piers has often been involved in heated debates on the subject and last month fired another shot at transgender swimmer Lia Thomas amid reports she is set to compete for a swimming spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The rise of the swimmer has become a talking point since she started to receive increased publicity. She has found success by losing muscle mass and strength due to testosterone suppression and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
But Piers is among those to have voiced his opposition of her eligibility to compete alongside other women.
Writing on Twitter, he said: "This cannot happen. She’d have never been anywhere near Olympic standard had she stayed competing as a man - which says it all about the threat she poses to the integrity of women’s sport."
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